14 "Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. But the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 14(A)For (B)it will be like a man (C)going on a journey, who called his servants[a] and entrusted to them his property. I will put you in charge of many things. I realize that I am going to pull some whiskers by what I am about to say, but I think that I am being true to our text, and to the Bible as a whole. Jesus tells the story of a rich man who has three slaves. Read the full Bible passage of this story below and find related articles, videos, and audio sermons to help your understanding of this biblical lesson. After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them. See, you have what is yours. 26 But his master answered, Evil and lazy slave! To the first he entrusted five talents, to the second two talents, and to the third one talent. Jesus came into a world that was the devils domain (1 John 5:19) and claimed it for himself, despite opposition from demons and sinful people who disliked him calling out their flaws. We would probably do well to compare this text with a couple of passages in the Gospel of Luke: 16 So the first one came before him and said, Sir, your mina has made ten minas more. 17 And the king said to him, Well done, good slave! [14]For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. 274 If my concordance program is correct, this term occurs 526 times in the New Testament. The third slave is just the opposite. While there would be sufficient evidence for His followers to discern the general season of His return, neither the day nor the hour would be known (Matthew 24:32-36, 42). As his grand finale, the man reached in and pulled the tigers whiskers. What is the meaning of the Parable of the Vineyard? I believe it is his view of his master, and thus the work his master has assigned. Yet is this not what our Lord is teaching us in this parable? The parable of the talents is one of those Bible stories most of us know, yet its hard to understand. 12:6; 1 Cor. third servant hides what was entrusted to him. There is only one who is good. 11 If then you havent been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will entrust you with the true riches? third servant claims that he was afraid of his master. It is from the use of the word "talents" in this parable that we moderns have derived its common meaning of natural gifts and endowments. You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? But none of them adequately explain it. Enter into the joy of your master!' 24 Finally, the servant who had . 25And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. New King James Version (NKJV). You may unsubscribe from Bible Gateways emails at any time. Knowing that Jesus was describing servants being given huge amounts of cash to invest helps us to understand just how generous the master was being, the opportunity each servant was given. Christians will spend all eternity at work, and this work will include ruling with our Lord and praising Him. The disciples ask for details about the last days, and Jesus talks about how harsh they will be, warning them to look out for false teachers and so forth. third servant does not make a profit for his master. What is the meaning of the parables of fasting at the wedding feast, the old cloth, and the wineskins? Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. This is like one of those reality TV shows where people compete for money to invest in a project, only with a different agenda. Download our craft directions below, gather your craft supplies, and watch the example video as you prepare to teach. I am saying that our labors for the kingdom have no point of termination except for our Lords return, and even then fruitful labor will continue in heaven. The Topic of Teenagers Open Heavens for Saturday 4th March 2023 Is "Parable of The Talents I". 2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise. Its also interesting that when the third servant returns his money, he accuses the master of being a hard man who reaps where he did not sow (Matthew 25:24). 14 For it is like a man going on a journey, who summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them. 47 I tell you the truth, the master will put him in charge of all his possessions (Matthew 24:45-47). Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the. The only difference seems to be in their abilities, and thus in the talents that were entrusted to them. It was completed by more than twenty biblical scholars who worked directly from the best currently available Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts. See, I have gained five more. 21 His master answered, Well done, good and faithful slave! It is a simple story that our Lord tells here. 280 Old Testament references here are to the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament. I will end with these words from our Lord to the church at Sardis. 2 Wake up then, and strengthen what remains that was about to die, because I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. These folks were a more honest (hopefully) version of money changer than those who did business in the temple precincts. His servants will worship him, 4 and they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads (Revelation 22:1-4). In the Book of Revelation, heaven is described as a return to paradise lost: 1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of lifewater as clear as crystalpouring out from the throne of God and of the Lamb, 2 flowing down the middle of the citys main street. 19 For the creation eagerly waits for the revelation of the sons of God. And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. The Parable of the Talents, Matthew 25:14-30, impresses on them the weight of that responsibility and the serious consequences of neglecting to understand and apply His instructions. get answers to your Bible questions from 50+ resources ($2,400+ value! 29 Take my yoke on you and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. get answers to your Bible questions from 50+ resources ($2,400+ value! It appears in Matthew 25:14-30, and another version of the parable can be found in Luke 19:11-27. Speed and thrust increase. I was talking about this text with a friend, and he said, God expects the principle, plus interest. I think thats right. 8 But you must require of them the same quota of bricks that they were making before. God is both, and his plans will not necessarily make sense to our limited perspectives. 4 But you have a few individuals in Sardis who have not stained their clothes, and they will walk with me dressed in white, because they are worthy. 12 And if you havent been trustworthy with someone elses property, who will give you your own? (Luke 16:10-12). It is a time when one should have the wisdom of age, financial freedom, and flexibility. Look, But his lord answered and said to him, You. The second servant has made (five minas from one mina, or four talents from two talents). Did this third slave think that there would be no reward for his faithful service because his master was a hard man? He doubled the money his master entrusted to him. And so he simply hid the money, and now he returned it, without any gain. Luke there are ten servants; in Matthew, there are only three. Jaye Martin, How to Know Your Life Purpose Sharon Jaynes, Make the Most of Your Talents if they get a '6' then they can pop the gloves on and try and unwrap the gift. Wrap a gift a number of times to create a few layers. Each (of more than two), every one. If we were to make an equation of this parable, it would probably go like this: Resources (talents) + Labor (work) + Time = Profit. 9 The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow from the soil, every tree that was pleasing to look at and good for food. The first question one would ask is, How much profit did it make? We are so used to thinking in non-profit terms that we are almost shocked to hear such a question raised. In the Luke version, he gives out 10 minas to 10 servants (Luke 19:16-20 makes it clear that each servant gets one mina). My confident hope is that I will in no way be ashamed but that with complete boldness, even now as always, Christ will be exalted in my body, whether I live or die (Philippians 1:20). I am now inclined to say that verse 13 fits best with verses 14-30. Let them go and collect straw for themselves. Both minas and talents were units of currency in the ancient Roman world. Follow Christ's journey to the Cross. It is used in 1 Samuel 25:3 to describe Nabal, Abigails husband, who is a stubborn fool.281 Isaiah (48:4) uses this term to describe Israels abstinence. parable in Luke is told when Jesus was near Jerusalem, before His triumphal entry; in Matthew, the parable is told when Jesus was in Jerusalem, a few days later. He provides the money and the ability, but we are expected to work hard with what He has given us, for the profit of the kingdom. First, they receive their masters commendation, Well done, good and faithful slave (verses 21, 23). And so I will conclude by asking you this, my friend: Do you know and love the Master, Jesus Christ? 12:6; 1 Cor. Play a game of pass the parcel where children must try to rip off each layer when the music stops. 278 Actually, the good slave is both morally good and useful, but his usefulness is emphasized most in the context. I am suggesting that the way some Christians look forward to, or practice, retirement is a form of burying your talent. He then tells the servants to put this money to work (Luke 19:13), invest it to make more money for him, and he would see their results when hes back. In my opinion, nothing in our text compels us to think (or even imply) that this might be the case. Ed, Issue 46, Winter 2023. man goes to another country, stays a long time, and then returns. For this story about a master and his servants, understanding the culture of Jesus' original audience is necessary to comprehend His message. The difference is that one group brought oil for their lamps, and the others did not. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers together until now (Romans 8:18-22). The Parable of the Talents. So you knew, did you, that I was a severe man, withdrawing what I didnt deposit and reaping what I didnt sow? 17 In the same way, the one who had two gained two more. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, each according to his ability. Start FREE. Dont blame it on God. While interest could not be charged of fellow-Israelites, it could be charged of foreigners (see Deuteronomy 23:19-20). And if our labors are joyful, we will delight in the thought of further labor. What is the meaning of the Parable of the Leaven. His entertainment was to torment one of the tigers. Pertaining to self, i.e. 13 And he summoned ten of his slaves, gave them ten minas, and said to them, Do business with these until I come back. 14 But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, We do not want this man to be king over us! 15 When he returned after receiving the kingdom, he summoned these slaves to whom he had given the money. He does not go to work with his masters money, over a lengthy period of time, and thus make a profit. A primary word; 'else, ' i.e. Granted, the interest one gets from a savings account is not the kind of increase one might get from investing in the stock market, but it would at least be a small increase. As Dorothy Sayers put it in her essay Why Work? if we follow God properly, all the work will be Christian work, whether it is Church embroidery or sewage-farming.. No, but for this very reason I have come to this hour. The Bible makes it clear there is no sacred versus secular work in the way we often think. All rights reserved. 18 But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money. However, the talents (or minas in Lukes version) represent more than just the monetary resources God gives us. And so it is that those who over time work with what they are entrusted, in order to make a profit for their master, are rewarded for their faithfulness. Mat Mt). Wells The Invisible Man where a foolish theologian suggests a strangers problem is he only has one talent. in Luke is there another group, in addition to the masters servants those who dont want this man to become their king, and who send a message asking him not to return. Then he (F)went away. Both of these faithful slaves are rewarded well for their faithful service. 12:7, 11, 29; Eph. Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular. Pharaoh was a harsh master. He demanded that the Israelites make bricks, but he refused to supply them with the necessary materials. Pressing this matter just a little further, if the church were to be considered a business and every member were to be viewed as an employee, how many of us should reasonably expect to keep our jobs? These things are good and beneficial for all people (Titus 3:4-8). wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. The element of profit. 4 The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The story of Jesustelling this parable really begins in Matthew 24 when he mentions the coming destruction of Jerusalem. Heaven can hardly be described in terms of retirement. He does no work for a lengthy period of time and thus is useless. Jumble. 14 For it is like a man going on a journey, who summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them. I contend that verse 14 does not begin the new paragraph, but that verse 13 does. He doesnt even take the trouble to take it to the money changers, and let them work with it to gain something for his master. He distributes his wealth among three servants, apportioned to them on the basis of their abilities. 21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. They seemed to delight in serving their master, and they were eager to get to work quickly to produce a profit for him. (a) I receive, get, (b) I take, lay hold of. Two of the slaves seem eager to show their master what they have accomplished in his absence. Also the description of the last judgment. 281 Remember that one manifestation of the harshness or hardness of Nabal was that he refused to reward David for his faithful service to him (1 Samuel 25:2-13). For all the saints. He didnt even hand the money over to bankers,276 to let them go to work with it. Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. Father, deliver me from this hour? The manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. They returned to their master with double the talents! It seems safe to deal with the first two servants together, since they are so similar. You may unsubscribe from Bible Gateways emails at any time. Includes discussion questions and verse by verse commentary for small groups. What is the meaning of the Parable of the Rich Fool? Christ keeps no servants to be idle: they have received their all from him, and have nothing they can call their own but sin. You have gone back to needing milk, not solid food. Burying the talent in the ground is an illustration of using one's God-given gifts for earthly pursuits. However, as planned, he becomes king of the distant land and returns home to see how his servants have done. What is the meaning of the Parable of the Unforgiving / Unmerciful Servant? He, too, doubled the money his master left in his care. Jesus' stories had more than one meaning. Look, there you have what is yours.. This slave does absolutely nothing with the talent that has been entrusted to him, nothing but bury it, that is.277 We need to distinguish between his excuses and the masters assessment, both of which are conveyed in our text. We must all be reckoned with as to what good we have got to our own souls, and have done to others, by the advantages we have enjoyed. What can we learn from the parable of the persistent widow and unjust judge? Unfaithful service led to condemnation, the removal of ones stewardship, and an eternity of weeping and gnashing of teeth in outer darkness, away from the presence of our Lord. For you were bought at a price. 2 Samuel 7:1-3 And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house, and the LORD had given him rest round about from all his enemies; , 1 Chronicles 13:1-3 And David consulted with the captains of thousands and hundreds, and with every leader, 1 Chronicles 22:1-26:32 Then David said, This is the house of the LORD God, and this is the altar of the burnt offering for Israel. We often mix up the word talent in the currency sense with our modern English word talent meaning gifts, and its important to understand the money context of what Jesus was saying. I thus take verse 13 as the first verse of this new paragraph. In short, the talents represent what God has given usour monetary resources, our callings to positions within the church (Ephesians 4:11-16), our natural giftings. What is your ministry, your unique contribution to the kingdom of God? The similarities between the parable in Matthew 25 and this parable in Lukes Gospel are easily seen: While the parable in Luke is similar to our parable in Matthew 25, there are some significant differences: The temptation is for us to carry details from the parable in Lukes Gospel over to Matthews account, but we should be careful about this, recognizing that these parables, while similar, were told on different occasions and contain significant differences. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and my load is not hard to carry (Matthew 11:28-30). And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. First of all, let us be clear that we are not talking about salvation by works. But a married woman is concerned about the things of the world, how to please her husband. each according to his ability. We know that God expects us to grow over time, and that He is displeased when we fail to grow: 11 It was he who gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, that is, to build up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of Goda mature person, attaining to the measure of Christs full stature (Ephesians 4:11-13). In the New Testament, the term "talent" meant something very different than it does today. Retirement is like the second stage of a rocket booster. Since Jesus was the son of God and therefore had a right to the kingship he claimed, we cant accuse him of stealing what he didnt deserve. 21 For I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man. 275 See William Hendriksen, The Gospel of Matthew (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1973), p. 879. The element of money. To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey. The talent was the largest measurement of money in those days. average monthly wage for Americans in 2021. Noelle Kirchner, The Generosity Of God First, the master stayed away for a long time (Matthew 25:19). a certain weight or 'talent'. Matthew 25:14-30. Let me see if I can defend my allegation. The element of work. Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. Amen (Romans 9:1-5). Therefore glorify God with your body (1 Corinthians 6:20). Visit a foreign land. This parable is not primarily about faith, nor is it about being willing to take a risk (this was merely the wicked slaves excuse). first two servants are faithful; they are praised by their master and are given greater authority. 30And (T)cast (U)the worthless servant into the outer darkness. 15 And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. 28 Therefore take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten. Luke 19:13,14 And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come, Personal / Relative Pronoun - Dative Masculine Singular, Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular. which was given to the third (unfaithful) servant is taken away and given to the faithful servant who gained the most for his master. I do not know the Lord, and I will not release Israel. 3 And they said, The God of the Hebrews has met with us. The day of account comes at last. This is a sobering question. 271 Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the NET Bible. Then he went on his journey. It was not until after the fall of man that mans labor became toil: 17 But to Adam he said, Because you obeyed your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, You must not eat from it, cursed is the ground thanks to you; in painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. We have the most valuable gift of all, the Word of God and the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ. God made me for a purpose, for China, Liddell says, But he also made me fast, and when I run, I feel his pleasure. 14(B)For the kingdom of heaven is (C)like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. Yes, there are official positions for certain church tasks (preaching, evangelizing, teaching, etc.) Working hard for the profit of the kingdom and the King is entering into the joy of our Master. He is not harsh, nor does He require that we do the impossible (make a profit where He has not provided the means). Before he goes, the master brings his servants together (three in the Matthew version, 10 in the Luke version). A talent was worth even more: NIV footnotes for the Matthew passage state that one talent was 20 years wages.
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